Are you battling the self-doubt monster right now? Is it trying to bring you down and destroy your writing dreams? It’s a common theme in a writer’s life. You go along doing well for a while, and then something happens to cause you to doubt yourself. You get a rejectionContinue Reading
Talk to any writer, and you’ll hear stories of fear. “We’re all scared,” writes historical romance author, Brandy Vallance. “Let’s just start there. No matter what stage of writing you find yourself in, fear is the constant adversary that will track your every move and hunt you down….As a writer,Continue Reading
by Susan L. Urasky Writing with emotion is what I was taught. Scenes that are well-written include character’s emotions that touch the reader viscerally. My biggest challenge was unexpected. I wasn’t prepared for the aftermath after layering strong feelings and emotions that came from deep within myself. I created specificContinue Reading
Writers often feel powerless. We must compete in an increasingly saturated marketplace, and the challenges of marketing our work and building strong platforms can often feel overwhelming as we try to maintain regular writing routines. After coming up against a defeat or two—which is bound to happen—we can start toContinue Reading
If you’ve been a writer for any time at all, you’ve suffered from a painful experience. Perhaps several. You’ve had your work rejected. You’ve gotten a bad review (or two). You’ve had your story ignored by agents, editors, and contest judges. You’ve heard from your family that you’re wasting yourContinue Reading
Creativity and depression seem to go together. In a 2017 review involving 36 studies and thousands of participants, researchers found a clear relationship between being creative and having a diagnosis of a mood disorder, like depression. They did not find, however, that people diagnosed with a mood disorder were moreContinue Reading
If there’s one characteristic writers share, it’s “hard-working.” Most of us have day jobs and use our leisure time to work on our writing projects. Many of us have families we’re taking care of too—kids and sometimes aging parents—and it can seem like we have hardly a spare minute toContinue Reading
In a writer’s life, a series of difficult little things can easily add up to one big feeling of discouragement. Then we can find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a crisis that can threaten our careers. If you’ve noticed this happening in your writing world lately, this postContinue Reading
by Anita Kushwaha Ernest Hemingway famously said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed.” While this quote might seem a tad hyperbolic, it nevertheless speaks to the costs of leading an artist’s life. The deeply personal investment it takes to share partContinue Reading
Fear is blocking your writing…if you’ve made any of these statements recently: Oh man, I’m just sooooo busy, I haven’t had time to get that story done. Those stupid editors! They don’t know what’s good anyway, so I’m not going to try submitting. Why do I feel so tired lately?Continue Reading
“We have met the enemy, and he is us,” the saying goes.* In this case, I’m speaking of what I’ve come to believe may be the creative artist’s worst enemy: perfectionism. I’ve written about perfectionism before, but it showed it’s ugly face to me again recently in such a wayContinue Reading
Are you stuck overthinking something? Bill got a rejection last month, and it’s still bugging him. I thought for sure that was the one, he thinks. What could have gone wrong? I just can’t figure it out. Melanie has an idea for a new guest post, but she’s not sureContinue Reading